Facebook

ICAH

The Institute of Child and Adolescent Health ( ICAH) is one of the cornerstones of Arabkir Medical Centre.

Being the successor of the Republican Center for Child Health Care Organization and Methodology and reestablished in 2003, the Institute of Child and Adolescent Health (ICAH) is one of the leading and headmost health establishments in Armenia in the field of Child and Adolescent Health. The mission of the Institute is to promote healthy growth and development of children and adolescents of Armenia.

The activities of the Institute are mainly aimed at development of national health policies and regulations, concepts, strategic and investment programs, capacity building of health care specialists, development of innovative approaches, promotion of exchange of experience between the specialists, local and foreign experts to contribute to sustainable development of health care in the sphere of child and adolescent health.

The main directions of the activities implemented by ICAH are presented below:

to conduct researches, studies and surveys to collect and analyze information and statistical data on the status of child and adolescent health in Armenia

to participate in development and enhancement of national policies and regulations for improving the health system at different levels

to develop and implement projects and investment programs

to provide support in developing the clinical guidelines for the child and adolescent health

to support activities aimed at children rights advocacy

to improve capacities of health professionals through trainings, seminars, workshops and lectures

to foster and reinforce activities aimed at healthy lifestyle promotion

to establish youth-friendly services

to improve services for early identification and management of non-communicable diseases in children

to arrange visits of mobile medical teams to the regions of Armenian to provide specialized medical care

Basic principles of our work

Collaboration:

ICAH is aimed to strengthen collaboration with all key stakeholders, such as health professionals and relevant national authorities, national and international experts, medical specialists and professionals from the field of Public Health, governmental institutions and non-governmental organizations as well as international and bilateral organizations.

Integration:

ICAH works toward integration of efforts of all sectors, especially health, education and social sectors; integration of the primary, secondary and tertiary level services within the health sector.

Innovation:

For many years ICAH has been at the forefront of efforts to improve health status of Armenian children by introducing innovative approaches in the pediatrics. The ICAH makes large efforts to bring its own practices and practices of other health institutions functioning in the CAH field into line with the best international standards.

Effectiveness:

Attaching special importance to effectiveness, the ICAH continuously improves its activities to ensure best possible results and effective management of limited resources available in a country like Armenia.

Accountability:

The history of collaboration of the ICAH with many partners from different countries has always demonstrated the important role of the accountability in building long-term partnerships.

Sustainability:

The latest history of the health sector of Armenia gives many examples of the initially perfect projects, which disrupted with the expiry of external financing. Therefore, since early stages of implementation of any program, sustainability is one of the highest priorities.

ICAH ACTIVITIES

HEALTH POLICIES AND STRATEGIES

Support in developing the National Strategy on Child and Adolescent Health and Development and action plan for 2009-2015, implemented by Ministry of Health in cooperation with WHO European office in 2006-2009.

The ICAH developed the key parts of the strategy and action plan: “Developmental Disorders and Disability”, “Adolescent Health”, “Chronic Diseases”, “Injuries and Violence”.

Project: ASSESSMENT OF MOTHER AND CHILD HEALTH SERVICES IN ARMENIA, realized in Oct. 2010-Feb. 2011, in collaboration with MoH and World Vision Armenia.

Objective: Assessment of MCH services in Armenia, particularly staff and infrastructures. Results: strengths and weaknesses of the current system were highlighted; the recommendations have been used in policy developing and planning.

CONTINUOUS MEDICAL EDUCATION IN PEDIATRICS

The ICAH held trainings in Yerevan as well as organized hundreds of visits of leading pediatric experts to the most regions of Armenia to provide lectures and training, share their advanced experience with local specialists.

Project: COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT: IMPROVEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS OF HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS, implemented under support of the Children of Armenia Foundation, Armavir marz, 2005.

The ICAH developed Pediatric Manual and the set of clinical guidelines on management of the most common childhood diseases in cooperation with the team of senior pediatric experts of Armenia. The ICAH introduced unique model on-the-job training, which has been used at different trainings.

ARRANGEMENT OF OUTREACH MEDICAL SERVICES

Under support of the Ministry of Health as well as within the frames of different programs, the ICAH arranges visits of mobile medical teams to the regions and remote areas of Armenia. Many thousands of sick children were consulted, treated and referred by the best pediatric professionals of Armenia.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND REHABILITATION

Activities of ICAH in this field are aimed to prevent child disabilities, improve health and wellbeing of children with developmental delays and promote their social integration through implementation of early intervention program, improvement of knowledge and skills of relevant specialists and establishing of specialized child rehabilitation centers in regions of Armenia.

Project: HEALTHY START: PREVENTING DISABILITY AND PROMOTING THE RIGHTS OF DISABLED CHILDREN IN ARMENIA, in collaboration with the Armenian office of Mission East Danish NGO and Bridge of Hope under support of the Agency for International Development of the Danish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Armavir, Gegharkunik and Tavoush marzes, 2006-2013.

Regional Child Development and Rehabilitation Centers were established in Armavir and Tavoush regions of Armenia; the multidisciplinary staff of CDRCs was trained on physical, mental and social rehabilitation of the children. The comprehensive set of teaching materials for medical doctors, nurses, allied medical and other specialists was developed, including “Basics of Child Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics” textbook, “Child Developmental Disorders and Basics of Rehabilitation” manual, set of modules for rehabilitation teams, as well as educational leaflets for parents. To improve early detection and referral of children with special need, doctors and nurses in target areas were trained on child developmental disorders. The new system of surveillance on child disability was developed and introduced in CDRCs.

ADOLESCENT HEALTH

Programs to improve adolescent health, 2005-to present

The ICAH provided support in developing the National Concept paper of Youth Friendly Health Services, in cooperation with UNICEF and For Family and Health NGO, which was approved by the Ministry of Health in 2005. There were introduced the series of activities, including sensitization of policy-makers, health and education professionals, public to adolescent health issues; adaptation of WHO Orientation Program on Adolescent Health and trainings of the medical staff; development of the draft standards of adolescent friendly services; analysis of legislation and organization of the parliament hearings, development of educational materials for medical staff and young people/public.

In 2010 the ICAH participated in the review of services, implemented under guidance of the senior international expert in this field. The results of interviews and focus group discussions in 4 focal points are reflected in the “Strengthening Health Services for School-age Children and Adolescents in Armenia” report, which outlines perspectives and recommendations.

The goal of the project was to promote healthy lifestyle and prevent sexual and reproductive health problems among the students of colleges of Armavir and Kotayk regions.

Project: IMPROVEMENT OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AWARENESS OF ADOLESCENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS was conducted in collaboration with UNFPA in 2013. The project is targeted to raise awareness on reproductive health knowledge, change attitude and practice of adolescents with disabilities/ chronic diseases, teachers, school nurses and other caregivers, thus improve reproductive and overall health status of the most vulnerable Armenian adolescents in the pilot community of Yerevan. During project implementation trainings on healthy lifestyle, sexual and reproductive health for adolescent with special needs in Recreation inclusive summer camp “Aparan” were organized jointly with Y-Peer national network. Trainings for the parents and pupils of selected 2 inclusive schools were conducted; two separate teaching modules and educational leaflets were developed and distributed.

Project on IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PILOT ADOLESCENT FRIENDLY INTEGRATED HEALTH, EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL SERVICES IN ARMENIAN REGIONS is conducted since 2012 in collaboration with Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Social Affairs and under support of UNICEF. Intersectoral coordination and regulatory framework in health, educational, social, and non-governmental sectors during project implementation was elaborated and are piloting in 2 pilot sites in Yerevan and 1-in Armavir region. The proposed project aimed to fill the gaps and stimulate promotion of healthy development and wellbeing, lifestyle of schoolchildren and adolescents, respond to the health concerns of adolescents, their parents and teachers.

STUDY ON HEALTH BEHAVIOUR OF SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN

Health Behaviour of School-age Children (HBSC) survey focuses on studying the health and health behavior of adolescents and at disclosing the various factors – healthcare, education, social and family environments, which influence their health and behaviors. The survey methodology enables collection of valid data on both national and cross-national levels, and allows making comparisons across all participating countries. HBSC survey has been conducted every four years under the aegis of WHO Regional Office for Europe. Currently the survey includes 44 countries: almost all countries in Western and Central Europe, the USA, Canada, Israel, as well as several of the CIS countries (Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and Moldova).

The pilot study on Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) was implemented with the support of UNICEF, 2005. In 2007, Armenia became an associate member of the European HBSC network. In 2010 the full-scale study was conducted under the support of the State Committee of Science and UNICEF; the survey covered more than 4000 schoolchildren from all regions of Armenia. In 2013/2014 new HBSC was conducted.

The results of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children 2013/2014 National study were presented by ICAH to professional community on May 13, 2016. The survey was conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science, the State Committee of Science, the Ministry of Health, World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund Armenia Country Office and the International HBSC Survey Network. Survey data were collected in 2013/2014, and then processed by the International Coordinating Centre of the HBSC Survey Network. For the first time 17-year-old students were included in the HBSC survey. On the whole, 4813 students aged 11, 13, 15 and 17 years from 146 schools and colleges were surveyed. Survey revealed a number of issues of physical and mental health, peculiarities of eating habits and practices, lack of physical activity among Armenian adolescents; a number of smoking males increases dramatically from 15 to 17 years of age; these data is associated with prevalence of chronic non communicable diseases among adult population. The majority of adolescents acknowledged that they like their school; family culture is also rather unique. Prevalence of physical fights among males is the highest among all participating countries and is a serious matter of concern. More than 90% of teenagers are satisfied with their life, which is the highest rate in the international survey; however the level of satisfaction declines with the age.

Analysis of the survey data enables highlighting the directions in adolescent health and behavior that require most attention and further public health interventions in schoolchildren, adolescents and young people.

OUR PARTNERS:

Since 2003, ICAH has collaborated with the Ministry of Health of Armenia, the Ministry of Education and Science, Regional health authorities and health institutions; International organizations including WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, Mission East, World Vision, Children of Armenia Fund, Jinishyan Memorial Foundation, USAID, local NGOs, etc.